Bitcoin dips below $70,000 as Dollar Index hits 19-month high

Markets Bitcoin dips below $70,000 as Dollar Index hits 19-month high The crypto market selloff gathered pace early Friday. Bitcoin dropped below $70,000 and ether traded below $2,000, triggering large liquidations in futures market. By Omkar Godbole Updated Nov 12, 2026, 10:59 p.m. EST Published Nov 12, 2026, 10:37 p.m. EST 2 min read Make preferred on Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Make preferred on Enlarge image Summary Show Bitcoin fell below $70,000 early Friday to its lowest level since Aug. 19, as the Dollar Index held steady at 19-month highs. The sell-off accelerated amid reports of renewed military escalation in the Middle East, including Iran’s claim that it destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar in Bahrain. Exchanges liquidated more than $1.3 billion in cryptocurrency futures positions over 24 hours. Bitcoin’s BTC $70,075.44 price sell-off gathered pace early Friday as the U.S. dollar hit its highest level since April 2025 against a basket of fiat currencies. The leading cryptocurrency by market value fell to $69,000, hitting the lowest level since Aug. 19, according to CoinDesk data. Prices have dropped by 17% in this quarter, reversing a major chunk of the rally seen in the preceding three months. The broader market suffered. Ether ETH $1,933.59 , the second-largest token, dropped below $2,000 for the first time since August. XRP (XRP) traded close to the $1 level, while Solana’s SOL traded below $80. Several smaller tokens, such as GT, Stacks, and XMR, were down 7% or more. The selloff gathered pace as the Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the greenback’s exchange rate against major fiat currencies, traded above 103, its highest since April 2025. The index has risen by nearly 2% since early October on strengthening odds of Fed rate hikes, a headwind for liquidity-sensitive risk assets . The odds that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by half a percentage point in December have increased following a hotter-than-expected U.S. consumer price index reading for October released early this week. Meanwhile, media reports indicated renewed military escalation in the Middle East. Iran’s IRGC said it destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar in Bahrain in response to an air attack on a telecoms tower in Sirik. The IRGC, in remarks carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, described the strike as a “serious warning” to the “aggressor enemy,” demanding an end to what it called repeated aerial provocations and oil smuggling in the Strait of Hormuz. Still, WTI oil continued to trade around $88, down slightly from Thursday’s high of $89.15. Liquidations Crypto futures bets worth more than $1.3 billion were liquidated by exchanges over 24 hours, according to data source Coinglass. Of these, bitcoin alone accounted for $677 million. Nearly $500 million in liquidations occurred just as BTC fell below $70,000, underscoring how crowded the market had become with leveraged positions. Liquidations occur when an exchange forcibly closes a leveraged position because its losses have depleted the trader’s margin. In this case, BTC’s drop below $70,000 likely pushed several long positions below their required collateral level, triggering the forced sale by exchanges. The largest liquidated position was worth more than $31 million. It was a long BTC position – or bullish bet – on the decentralized trading platform Hyperliquid. Newsletters Crypto Daybook Americas - The latest moves in crypto markets, in context Market analysis for crypto traders and investors. Preview Sign up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy . Bitcoin News Related Assets Bitcoin $70,075.44 4.97 % Ethereum $1,933.59 5.83 % Latest Crypto News 1 North Korea's Binance hack faces U.S. crackdown as DOJ targets $1.2 billion in stolen crypto 5 hours ago 2 U.S. President Trump names CFTC, SEC nominees for first time in a year 5 hours ago 3 Kalshi ends Donald Trump Jr.’s advisory contract over 1789 Capital’s Polymarket investment 6 hours ago 4 Illinois crypto tax is impossible to enforce as written, crypto industry tells court 11 hours ago 5 DTCC adds Solana to Wall Street tokenization plans, targeting 2027 rollout 12 hours ago 6 Crypto for Advisors: The blockchain built to run financial markets 12 hours ago 7 Jupiter adds Anchorage-backed USDGO to its $1 billion Solana lending platform 13 hours ago 8 The next Congress will write rules for AI and emerging tech. 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